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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28898025">The Forgotten</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenix316/pseuds/ltgarrix'>ltgarrix (phoenix316)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Farscape</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:55:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,514</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28898025</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenix316/pseuds/ltgarrix</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What did Aeryn Sun do in her 'summer vacation' following 'A Dog With Two Bones'?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Forgotten</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is for Michael1812 written for a Secret Santa Exchange in 2011. I hope you enjoy it. I have other Farscape fic I have not archived here and if there is interest, I will upload more of them. Just leave me a review or kudos to let me know you are interested in reading more of my work. I've also dabbled in Harry Potter fanfic if anyone is also interested in that fandom.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was the most disreputable dive on this entire disreputable planet. She could not believe that she was here. She pulled the cloak tighter around her body and made sure her face was in full shadow of her hood. While it was not likely she would be recognized, and she could handle anyone who thought she was a weak female, this was not the type of place where you wanted to be noticed, and she knew she would be noticed without the cloak.</p>
<p>The only reason she was here was that she had received several tips that she might find more information here. Of course, when currency was involved, there were always a fair number of people who would give you the information they thought you wanted to hear – hence the eight or nine dead ends she had already followed.</p>
<p>The information this time seemed more legitimate. Even so she tried not to get her hopes up.</p>
<p>She sidled up to the bar and slid a krendar toward the bartender and ordered a drink. When he returned, she made sure to let him see that she had more currency. "I'm looking for someone," she stated simply.</p>
<p>"Most people come here because they don't want to be found," he retorted.</p>
<p>"That's why I'm here." She slid another krendar along the bar, but kept her finger firmly on it. "He travels on a red Leviathan." She noticed that he did not react in disbelief to that statement as many of the others had.</p>
<p>He reached towards her hand to take the Krendar. She discreetly showed him that she had a pulse pistol in her other hand covered by her cloak and he pulled his hand back slightly. "What does this <i>friend</i> of yours look like?"</p>
<p>"Sebacean. If you can tell me more, this can be yours." She tapped the krendar with her finger. "More if I find him."</p>
<p>"Little taller than you, dark hair, well built so not a man to be messed with. He's been here," the bartender replied hopefully, obviously eager to relieve her of some of those krendars.</p>
<p>She removed her hand from the krendar and he quickly scooped it off the bar. "When?" This was more information than she had gotten previously. This did not feel like a dead end and she tried to control her excitement.</p>
<p>"Ten or twelve solar days ago. I don't keep that close track on my patrons. I only remember him because of the ship. Never seen a red one before. That and we don't get many Sebaceans out here. You hunting him down as a deserter?"</p>
<p>"Something like that." She did not want to give him a lot of information, but perhaps he thought there would be a substantial reward if his information led to the capture of a Peacekeeper deserter who possibly had a stolen Peacekeeper project. She would let him believe whatever he wanted if it got her the information she needed.</p>
<p>"He left the outpost. Can't blame him. Not much here. Control should have his last known trajectory," he said hopefully.</p>
<p>She pulled a handful of krendars out of her pocket. "I guess I should go over to control and try to get that information."</p>
<p>He looked longingly at the currency. He licked his lips. "I know one of the controllers there. She'll get me the information and I can bring it here. Then no one would be the wiser that you are looking for him."</p>
<p>She had hoped that he would have an in and offer to get the information. "I do have to means to analyze the data and make sure it is correct. You do not want to give me false information." She once again flashed the pulse pistol.</p>
<p>"No, no, of course not. Give me an arn, half an arn and I'll bring you what you want."</p>
<p>She nodded to him. If he succeeded, she could use that information to determine if it really was Crais – though the bartender had given her enough information that she had little doubt it really was him.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Aeryn found a dark corner where she could see but not be seen and waited for the bar tender to return. She nursed a drink, trying not to draw too much attention to herself. There was nothing more suspicious than someone sitting in a bar who was not drinking.</p>
<p>The arn was nearly up and she was growing impatient. She knew that she had given the bartender good reason to return with the information, but she knew that no one here had any great love of the Peacekeepers. She had done nothing to clarify her status with the Peacekeepers and it was just as likely that he would gather a group to show their anti-Peacekeeper sentiments.</p>
<p>Absentmindedly she fingered her pulse pistol, mentally preparing for the worst.</p>
<p>She was just getting ready to leave when she saw the bartender return. She pulled the pulse pistol out of the holster, but kept it under the table.</p>
<p>He put a data crystal on the table. "I told you I'd get it."</p>
<p>She picked it up and eyed it cautiously. "And this has the flight information on the red Leviathan?"</p>
<p>"Indeed it does," he said proudly.</p>
<p>She put the crystal in her pocket and pulled out the promised krendars. The bartender put his hand on them and she slammed his hand on top of his. "I'm going to check this. Should this be anything other than information I asked for – and you promised – I will find you and you will pay," she growled menacingly.</p>
<p>He swallowed nervously. "I understand." When his hand was released he quickly pocketed the krendars.</p>
<p>Aeryn left the bar and returned to her Prowler so she could verify the data. Playing the chip, she did indeed see Talyn. The gunship was damaged, but that was to be expected given the fact that that they had found pieces of him in the wreckage of the command carrier. Though now that she examined him, she thought it looked like the damaged areas were healing. It was difficult to tell because the resolution on the tracking information was not that good. The most important thing she got from the information was the heading Crais and Talyn took out of the system. Even though this was eight solar days ago, she finally felt that she was getting somewhere in her search.</p>
<p>Of course, she now had to find a way to follow him. Her Prowler was a short range vessel. She would have to find a transport going in the right general direction and barter for travel. She had done that in the past – offering her skills as a fighter pilot and providing protection in exchange for passage and fuel for the Prowler. It generally worked out well, and when it didn't, she made them regret the decision to take advantage of her.</p>
<p>She used the scanners on the Prowler to see what was at the spaceport. There were very few likely candidates. Most of the ships were small, too small to embark a Prowler.</p>
<p>Amazingly the largest of the traders in port was headed in the general direction that she wanted to go. She could hardly believe her luck. She had prepared for trying to negotiate passage in the right direction or to the next large planet where she would have to try to reacquire the trail.</p>
<p>The crew was predominantly female – which she thought boded fairly well. That made it much less likely one of them would try to make advances on her. Nevertheless, she would keep to herself as much as possible. That was generally pretty easy in these circumstances. Most of these traders liked to keep to themselves, not willing to trust outsiders.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Passage on the ship was slow. Aeryn used the time to check on her Prowler as much as possible, not that she could be able to get repair parts here, but she could get an idea if something was wearing out so she could procure parts as soon as possible. That took her the better part of two solar days, but they were still several days out from their next port. She knew that her options had been severely limited, but she had not realized that this ship would be that slow.</p>
<p>Aeryn did her best to keep busy, but she was definitely growing impatient. She would take one flight a day, but it generally lasted less than an arn. She did not want to make the captain feel that Aeryn was taken advantage of the included fuel, but it gave Aeryn a brief respite from the boredom. She actually found herself hoping that they would find some sort of trouble so that she would have something useful to do.</p>
<p>That thought made her chuckle. She had spent the last several cycles on Moya hoping to avoid trouble – which seemed to so often find them. Now she was hoping for it.</p>
<p>They finally arrived at their destination and Aeryn disembarked with little more than a fully fueled Prowler. She could only hope that more signs of Talyn could be found here. This planet was along Talyn's last known trajectory so there was a good chance Crais had been here – unless he was trying to avoid notice. At this point Aeryn had no idea what Crais was doing.</p>
<hr/>
<p>She was able to follow Talyn's trail for two more systems, fortunate that she could find transports heading the direction she was going. Though she seemed to be moving into a more densely populated area and there seemed to be established trade routes. There were a few Sebaceans to be found, but they were far into the Uncharted Territories and most were aliens, many of which she had never encountered. Fortunately for her even this far into the Uncharted Territories, people knew of the Peacekeepers and for the right price would give her information about Crais.</p>
<p>It seemed as though she was gaining ground on Crais. The latest tracking information she received put her only two solar days behind Talyn. She thought this was a true miracle given how slowly the transports she had been able to travel with moved. She only hoped the trail had not grown cold. She was almost out of currency.</p>
<p>After landing her Prowler at the space port, she decided to head out into the city. She had not seen any sign of Talyn on her way to the space port. A part of her had hoped that she would see a transport pod, that her quest would finally be over.</p>
<p>Aeryn spent the rest of the day trying to see if anyone had seen Crais or Talyn. So far no one had. She began to believe that they had skipped this planet even though it was in their last known direction of travel. She wondered if Crais had finally changed his tactics, returned to a more Peacekeeper way of using the strategy of heading in one direction while being tracked and then changing course once away from inhabited areas. It did not make any sense for him to do that since for the last monen he had been doing nothing to hide his next destination.</p>
<p>She had made her way to the outer parts of the city and was trying to decide her next course of action. A new ship was coming in to land and she instinctively looked towards the sky. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. It was a Leviathan transport pod. Was it possible that she had arrived before Crais? She knew that there was the possibility that the transport belonged to a different Leviathan, but from what she had learned, Leviathans were quite rare out here so it was highly unlikely.</p>
<p>Unfortunately she was as far from the spaceport as you could get. She would have to find Crais in the city and could hope that he would not flee upon seeing her Prowler. He would have no way of knowing that it was her and not a true Peacekeeper. It was nearly impossible that there would be Peacekeepers this far in to the Uncharted Territories, but they both knew that it was not impossible. If the Peacekeepers wanted something badly enough, they would ignore treaties and their own regulations – just as Crais had three cycles ago.</p>
<p>Making her way through the streets and crowds as quickly as she could, she was pleased that she did not see the transport pod depart. When she got to the spaceport, she started asking around if anyone had seen a male Sebacean. She knew that she could wait at the spaceport, but loitering at the transport would get her the wrong sort of attention, and her Prowler was parked on the other side of the landing area. Since there was more than one gate to the spaceport, she would have the best chance of finding Crais by locating him in the city.</p>
<p>It took her close to two arns before she saw him walking through one of the market areas. Now that she found Crais, she realized she had not really planned what to do next. Rather than approach him in the open, she decided to follow him and wait for him to settle some place more suitable. This would also give her time to decide what to say to him.</p>
<p>She noticed he walked with a slight limp and that his hair was cut shorter. She followed him for over half an arn before he entered one of the many cafes. This was her best chance to speak with him. She saw the shock on his face as he saw her. She slipped into the seat across from him.</p>
<p>"Aeryn?" he asked in shock. "What are you doing here?"</p>
<p>"I could ask you the same thing. I thought you were supposed to be dead," she said simply.</p>
<p>"Yet you came looking for me anyway," he replied.</p>
<p>"I knew that Talyn was special. And after the command carrier was destroyed, we did not find enough remains to account for Talyn. If there was a chance the two of you survived, I had to find you."</p>
<p>"So are Moya, the others here?" he asked curiously.</p>
<p>She shook her head. "No. I came on my own. None of them know what I'm doing." There was an uneasy silence. "You said that we don't come look for you. Did you not think there would be a chance of survival?"</p>
<p>He watched her for several microts, choosing his words. "I knew that there was a small chance we would come through starburst. I also knew that everyone, meaning the Peacekeepers, would finally think that we were dead. I knew that no one would come looking for us, that we could finally live our lives in peace. You can say that I did not want us to be found."</p>
<p>"You would just run away from Moya, from us?" She was surprised by his admission. She thought he had finally made peace with John and the others. They had finally come to realize that he was someone to be trusted, to be considered a friend.</p>
<p>"What are all of you to me? Yes, I believe I finally earned the Dominar's trust – and yours – but the others… And surely the Peacekeepers will still be after Crichton. Talyn is injured. He would be a liability to Moya."</p>
<p>"But he could defend us," she replied defensively.</p>
<p>Crais chuckled softly. "No, he could not. His firing mechanism was removed. And the violence… Aeryn, he never should have been. His instability was caused by the dichotomy of his creation. Leviathans are peaceful and by trying to turn one into a Peacekeeper… It was more than his psyche could handle. I will not see him rearmed – not even to defend himself."</p>
<p>"You could still be an asset to us. What you did for us, the others finally saw that you changed, that you are not the Peacekeeper captain who hunted us down." She did not want to return to Moya alone – if she returned at all.</p>
<p>He shook his head and said somberly, "There is nothing there for me. Perhaps in time when Talyn has recovered we will find Moya. But now he needs time to heal. I need time to heal."</p>
<p>"What are you going to do?" she asked curiously.</p>
<p>"I'll find something. We've been surviving through trade and transport. It was what Leviathans were bred for."</p>
<p>"But it's not what you were bred for. I'm going to look for the renegade Peacekeepers. Join me and make a difference. We can help the Peacekeepers return to what they should be." Through their travels, her eyes had been opened to the fact that the Peacekeepers were no longer keepers of the peace and she knew that had to change.</p>
<p>He shook his head again. "That's what you were bred for and you can do so if you wish. Remember, I was conscripted. I finally have a chance to leave behind the life of violence. Let me do so. If you wish to come with us, Talyn would be quite pleased to see you."</p>
<p>She eyed him carefully. "Perhaps you aren't the man I thought you had become."</p>
<p>"Because I won't fight your war?" he asked defensively. "I did what I did on the command carrier because we all saw what wormholes can do, and I know that the Peacekeepers should never have that technology. In that our 'war' was the same, but that's over. If you want to throw away your life with the renegade Peacekeepers, that is your decision."</p>
<p>"You think it's throwing my life away to defend those who can't defend themselves?" she replied defensively.</p>
<p>"I'm not going to convince you to change your mind. I just want something more from my life." He sounded tired.</p>
<p>"And that more is being a freighter captain? At least with the renegades I'm doing something to help others." She was trying to evoke some sort of passionate response from him, find the man she thought he was.</p>
<p>"Transporting freight does help others. I grew up on a farming planet and for several cycles my dreams of the future involved working the land and raising a family of my own. That was ripped from me by the Peacekeepers. They stole my life from me. Now I'm going to get it back. If you want to continue your life as a warrior, that is your choice. Don't try to drag me into it."</p>
<p>He finished his drink and left the rest of his meal untouched. "Talyn and I will leave in two arns. You're still welcome to come with us." He rose and walked out.</p>
<p>Aeryn watched him go. She was definitely confused. This was not at all the reaction she had expected from Crais. He had spent the last two cycles trying to get her to join him on Talyn. Now he acted as though he did not care what she did. And she would have thought that he would have been willing to join the renegade Peacekeepers. She thought it would give him purpose, not to mention that his experience as a Peacekeeper captain would be invaluable.</p>
<p>She would join him on Talyn and watch him for a while to determine what her next course of action would be.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Sitting in her Prowler, Aeryn watched Crais's transport pod depart. She powered up and followed him. Approaching Talyn, she could finally see the full extent of damage. One of starburst arms was damaged and there were scorch marks all over his skin, though they were nearly healed.</p>
<p>Thinking to the link with Talyn, Aeryn wondered how much the starburst had affected Crais. He had said they both needed time to heal. She did not know if they were joined at that point in time, but if they were she could see how it might have affected his decision about his future.</p>
<p>After landing in the hangar, she waited for it to pressurize. Crais was waiting for her when she disembarked.</p>
<p>"I see that you chose to join us," he said simply.</p>
<p>"For now," she replied indifferently.</p>
<p>Before she could say anything else, he said, "I want you to understand that while you are here, I am in command, and I do not want to hear any more talk about joining the renegades. Is that clear?"</p>
<p>She had expected this. "Yes, sir," she replied in her best Peacekeeper voice.</p>
<p>Crais was not amused. "You may have to search to find suitable quarters. The DRDs have been focusing their repair efforts elsewhere."</p>
<p>"I'm sure I can find something." She was thankful that she had gear with her. And she was sure that whatever she could find on Talyn would be better than some of the accommodations she had experienced recently.</p>
<p>He started walking away and turned back to face her. "Aeryn, Talyn and I… we are glad to see you again. He cares quite deeply for you. I just hope that you will respect our decision to alter our path in the universe."</p>
<p>"And what about you? How do you feel about me?" she asked probingly. She knew that he had been after this moment for close to two cycles.</p>
<p>He smiled sadly. "I know your heart belongs to another, and I will never have anything more than your friendship. I do value that friendship." He paused for several microts. "Please do not take advantage of that friendship to try to convince me to join your crusade. We are both tired of the fighting. If the day comes you tire of the fighting, we will be here for you."</p>
<p>After watching him leave, Aeryn found suitable quarters. They weren't perfect, but they were the least damaged. She considered Crais' words. She could understand being tired of the fighting, but she knew that there were still things left worth fighting for. She did not like to give up and staying with Crais and Talyn would be giving up. She knew that she could make a difference, but she could not do that on Talyn doing freight runs.</p>
<p>She would stay with Crais a little while and see if he changed his mind. If he did not, she would move on when the opportunity arose to join the renegade Peacekeepers. She knew that she wanted to restore the honor of the Peacekeepers. First and foremost, she was bred to service and it was hard to ignore that breeding.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Crais went to command. While the new life he and Talyn were carving out had not been easy, he had thought he knew what he wanted for the future. Now she had come and shattered that dream. It had been a long time since he had regretted leaving the Peacekeepers because he had had his eyes opened to what they had become. He realized they had corrupted the true nature of their creation. He and Talyn were definitely better off without them.</p>
<p>In his recent travels, he had heard whispered mutterings of a renegade Peacekeeper group that was growing in influence, but he had paid them no mind. He knew that it was very unlikely a group of renegades would be able to grow to any useful level, and if they did, he thought it unlikely for them to remain stable. Traitors – or defectors if you preferred – were generally not the type to slavishly conform to a hierarchy, and you ran into the problem that there were some new arrivals who tended to think that they were more worthy than those who were in charge. Given the fact he had not yet heard any names, he presumed the defectors were from the lower ranks.</p>
<p>No, he had no use for joining some sort of quasi-military group let alone leading one, and he knew that a former Command Carrier Captain that he would be unable to take direction from some Prowler Pilot. If that is what Aeryn wanted to do with her life, he would not stop her.</p>
<p>As much as he and Talyn wanted to start a new life with her, Crais was realistic. He knew that Aeryn would not stay long. She had her heart set on joining the renegades. He would enjoy the time they had together and hope that perhaps their friendship would convince her to change her mind.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Aeryn stayed with Crais and Talyn for a monen, but Crais could tell that she was restless. She enjoyed the times where she got to fly her Prowler to defend Talyn. He knew that she would not be staying much longer. While he was ready to leave his Peacekeeper past behind, she was not entirely ready to let go. He knew that it was her way of dealing with the grief of having lost her Crichton, but he also recognized that it was not entirely healthy. Of course he was in no position to comment on this since it had taken him quite a long time to come to terms with his own sanity.</p>
<p>They arrived at yet another nondescript planet in the Uncharted Territories. Aeryn had flown her Prowler down to accompany Crais' transport pod. He found this a little odd since there was no indication of anything threatening from this planet.</p>
<p>She accompanied him through the market as he procured supplies, saying very little. He knew that it was time for her to leave. A part of him had hoped that this day would not come, but the greater part of him knew that it was inevitable.</p>
<p>They were finishing loading the transport pod with both his supplies and latest cargo.</p>
<p>"Are you sure this is what you want?" she asked cautiously.</p>
<p>"For now. We have purpose in our lives. Later, who knows what we will decide." He shrugged.</p>
<p>"There are other ways to have purpose," she prompted.</p>
<p>He smiled sadly. "That is for you." He had caught bits of conversation on the planet. Enough to let him know that there was a Peacekeeper renegade presence here.</p>
<p>"Bialar, your training, your skill, your experience – it would invaluable to them," she said, almost pleading.</p>
<p>"Aeryn, you and I both know that would not be as easy as it seems. Yes, I have the rank, but would they be willing to accord me a position commensurate with my former rank? They would be loath to give that to an outsider. We both know that."</p>
<p>She considered his words for several long microts. "If I were to vouch for you… It might not happen right away, but you could definitely help the Peacekeepers become what they should be."</p>
<p>He smiled sadly and patted her cheek. "I appreciate the offer, but neither of us is ready for what it would mean. You, go. Do what you have to do. We'll be here if you need us."</p>
<p>She almost looked as though she was going to stay, but she turned and left.</p>
<p>~Will she be back?~ Talyn asked.</p>
<p>~I don't know.~ Crais replied. ~Perhaps one day she will return to Moya and we will find her there.~</p>
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